Editor’s note: this event has been cancelled.
If you’re looking for a show to celebrate Disability Pride Month, look no further than Glitter Crash, presented by Twisted Tassels Productions. The burlesque and drag showcase will heat up the stage on July 13 at The Cultch’s Historic Theatre. Starring disabled performers from across Turtle Island, this showcase aims to “celebrate diversity, empowerment, and the beauty of inclusion.”
Twisted Tassels is a local burlesque company that presents talent from marginalized communities. Oftentimes, “disability seems to go to the wayside,” even in some of the most inclusive shows. The Peak spoke to Twisted Tassels founder and producer All The Way Mae, who hopes that Glitter Crash can help “push the local performance arts community to recognize disability and include that in their efforts to diversify their own performances and productions.”
Glitter Crash is the first show of its kind in so-called Canada. Audience members will have to leave their preconceived notions about disability and performance arts at the door. Some of the best disabled performers around will be displaying their talents in this groundbreaking showcase. This includes the winner of the 27th annual San Francisco Drag King Contest, LOTUS BOY, the badass burlesque veteran Lady Drew Blood, and lək̓ʷəŋən-based (colonially known as Victoria) mega babe Holly Shirt who’s been “putting the sex in dyslexia since August 2020.”
disabled performers in drag and burlesque subverts some common misconceptions “that disabled folks don’t have sex, or aren’t interested in sex, or like sexuality is not a part of the disabled experience,” says All The Way Mae, who has been producing shows on and off for nearly two decades. While asexual disabled people do exist, disabled people are “not perpetual children that need to be infantilized or protected and aren’t able to have relationships or sex or own [their] own bodies,” they continued.
“Audience members will have to leave their preconceived notions about disability and performance arts at the door.”
Burlesque and drag are outlets that provide a lot of agency to the “individual performers to really speak to their truth and showcase what it is they want to show,” All The Way Mae told The Peak. Glitter Crash will be no different as “a few performers are doing acts that are very specific to their own experiences of accepting their disability or the challenges with their disability.”
The passion with which All The Way Mae speaks about the show is enough to convince anyone that this is an event they should not miss. Glitter Crash rejects tokenism by putting disabled voices front and centre in all aspects of the production. There will be something for everyone as the numbers range “from sultry stripteases to defiant acts of political commentary.”
More information about each performer and what they bring to the show can be found on the Twisted Tassels Productions Facebook and Instagram. The importance of making spaces as accessible as possible is not just modelled on stage at Glitter Crash. Masks will be mandatory, and extra masks will be available at the venue.
Tickets range from $41.30 to $61.30 and are available at thecultch.com.
